The Government of Guyana continues to come under pressure from the International community and local organisations to set a date for Local Government Elections. The last time the PPP Civic administration called Local Government polls was 20 years ago.
Outgoing US Ambassador to Guyana, Brent Hardt believes the stage should be set to call the elections as early as possible and there should be no further delays. In an interview with News Source at the US Embassy in Kingston on Monday, the American envoy said the elections are about the constitutional rights of Guyanese and not about political decisions.
The Ambassador said “the Government has made statements saying that they have to look at the time when it is going to be politically opportune or they are considering the implications of it, but it’s not a political decision, it is a constitutional right”.
“I think the issue is not whether elections should be called, it’s simply when. And the when should be now”, Hardt told News Source.
He said President Ramotar now has an opportunity to make a historic step forward for Guyana by being the President who restores Local Governance after 20 years. The American diplomat said if the PPP was the party that restored Local Governance, then “why not be the party that brought it back after a long hiatus”.
Mr. Hardt noted that all across Guyana, citizens appear concerned about what is happening in their communities and there appears to be a growing disconnect between citizens and their elected representatives. He pointed out that the country as a whole and the Government would benefit to have the extra layer of government that would restore the connectedness between people and their government.
“Recently the President was saying that City Hall was a disaster. To my mind, the obvious response to that is, give people a chance to have accountable elected officials that they could hold their feet to the fire”, the Ambassador said.
On Wednesday, at the Private Sector Commission’s General Meeting, President Ramotar responded to the criticism leveled against him for the government’s continued failure to call Local Government elections by saying that he wants the elections.
He shot down claims that the absence of the elections in two decades undermines democracy in Guyana and made a swipe at the diplomats calling for the elections by saying “what undermines democracy is when you listen to everybody’s telephone calls, and read their e-mails, and ban them from having collective bargaining in their own country, in different parts of North America and Europe.”
(25/06/2014)
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